X

Best MP3 players with FLAC

If you're looking for a portable MP3 player with FLAC capability, here are five of the best on the market.

Ty Pendlebury Editor
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He majored in Cinema Studies when studying at RMIT. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
  • Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
Donald Bell Senior Editor / How To
Donald Bell has spent more than five years as a CNET senior editor, reviewing everything from MP3 players to the first three generations of the Apple iPad. He currently devotes his time to producing How To content for CNET, as well as weekly episodes of CNET's Top 5 video series.
Ty Pendlebury
Donald Bell
2 min read

Just like canned beer, MP3s are cheap, convenient, and sold just about everywhere, but the quality doesn't hold up well under scrutiny. If you want to hear every detail in your music -- every breath, every strum, every rattle -- then a lossless format such as FLAC is the way to go.

The Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) is capable of reducing the size of uncompressed audio sources by 40 percent to 50 percent without any degradation in sound quality. You can find free programs for Mac, Windows, and Linux that will play and rip FLAC files, but finding a FLAC-compatible MP3 player isn't quite so easy.

It's possible that you already own a FLAC-compatible audio player and don't realize it -- check your manufacturer's support page for firmware updates that could enable FLAC and provide other improvements. If you own an older iPod, the open-source Rockbox firmware offers FLAC audio playback, custom EQ, games, and tons of little surprises. Meanwhile if you own an iPod Touch or an iPhone, there are several apps available from the App Store that will let you play and upload FLAC files. Read our FLAC FAQ here.


Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2
When it comes to competing with Apple's iPod Touch media player, the Galaxy Player 4.2 is Samsung's best effort yet, but it's still playing catch-up. Read the full review.


SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip
SanDisk's tongue-twister of an MP3 player is a stupefying value and its practical clip-on design is perfect for the gym.Read the full review.


Iriver P7
The Iriver P7 is like a beautifully crafted concept car with a frustrating lack of horsepower, but the price is compelling.Read the full review.


Iriver LPlayer
The Iriver LPlayer is a pint-size version of the well-received Clix. You get most of the same features in a smaller package offered at a pared-down price point.Read the full review.


Sony Walkman F800
While we haven't reviewed the Sony Walkman F800, the player does pack in the features, with FLAC playback among the highlights.Read the full review.


Compare these audio players head-to-head.